the Nightingale Collaboration's April 2011 Focus: Craniosacral Therapy Nonsense

here, I cite from the Nightingale Collaboration [TNC] in the UK which is focusing this month on craniosacral therapy nonsense [see 001., below]:

001. TNC writes:

001.a. in "April 2011: Craniosacral Therapy(CST)":

"our first Focus of the Month has been a remarkable success and thanks to everyone who has supported our focus on homeopathy by submitting complaints to the ASA and particularly to those who've let us know about the complaints they submitted [now CST]."

001.b in "Craniosacral Therapy (CST)":

"craniosacral therapy (CST) was invented in the early 1900s by American osteopath  William Sutherland [...] the Craniosacral Therapy Association of the UK [...calls it] 'a subtle and profound healing form' [...] CST practitioners believe that they can 'listen with their hands' to up to three separate cranial rhythms (the alleged movement of cerebrospinal fluid [...] around the brain and spinal column) and by doing so, diagnose a wide range of conditions — both physical and emotional and many of a serious medical nature [...then they treat] by [supposedly] gently manipulating the bones that make up the skull and sometimes the spine [...] to help to heal these conditions [...] the Craniosacral Therapy Association of the UK (CSTA) [...] has a code of ethics and state[s] that all registered members are bound by this code. In relation to advertising, it states 'all advertising in any medium must be legal, decent, honest and truthful and must conform to the guidelines such as the British Code of Advertising Practice' [...] what's the evidence? [...it] is primarily anecdotal in nature [...] the mechanism by which CST practitioners claim they can detect the rhythms of cerebrospinal fluid and by which they claim to influence the body into healing itself are biologically implausible [...and] no robust evidence has been produced that would validate these claimed mechanisms [...] there is no good evidence that CST is effective for any condition [...] there is little doubt that many CST practitioners use gentle techniques that are unlikely to cause any direct harm [...] there may be indirect harm caused by someone visiting a CST practitioner instead of consulting a registered medical practitioner, which may delay or dissuade someone with serious medical conditions from seeking proper and possibly urgently needed medical advice and treatment [..see] The Skeptic's Dictionary [entry...] Quackwatch: Why Cranial Therapy Is Silly."

Note: "subtle and profound" recalls naturopathy's description of homeopathy.  Coincidentally, I'd posted about CST  recently.

Andy Lewis on TNC's March Anti-Homeopathy Campaign

001. Andy Lewis writes at the Quackometer in "The Homeopaths and the Advertising Standards Authority" (2011-04-01):

"it is now the end of the Nightingale Collaboration’s first month of operation [...] set up to 'challenge misleading claims in healthcare advertising' [...] focusing on the bizarre world of pseudoscientific and superstitious medicine: an area that appears to get away with the most ludicrous health claims with little attention from any authority [...] the Nightingale Collaboration asked people to report homeopaths who are making unsubstantiated claims to the Advertising Standards Authority [...] it would appear that this campaign is likely to have far reaching consequences [...] it looks like this simple campaign could severely constrain the ability for quacks of all varieties to advertise their misleading claims on the web, without facing very serious consequences [...] the ASA received over a hundred and fifty complaints about over a hundred homeopath’s websites [...and warned them] 'you must remove any content from your website that claims directly or indirectly that homeopathy and homeopathic products can diagnose / treat / help health conditions' [...] battle lines have been drawn."

Note: this looks to be an interesting contest, and Andy has a lot of analysis of the UK consumer protection scene at the full post.

The UK Nightingale Collaboration's Focus of the Month: Homeopathy

the Nightingale Collaboration writes:

001.a. in "March 2011: Homeopathy":

"find a misleading claim on the website of a local practitioner [...] record the details of the misleading claim [...] submit your complaint to the ASA [...] wait for the ASA to deal with your complaint [...] when you get a response from the ASA, let us know."

Note: sounds great.

001.b. at their homepage:

"today, the 1st March, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) changed its rules so that members of the public can make complaints about misleading marketing communications on websites [...] now you can do something about them by submitting your own complaint [...] at the start of each month we will be announcing a new area of healthcare where we would like you to look for misleading claims on the web, make an ASA complaint and help eradicate misleading claims [...] as part of our first project, we want all those concerned about the public being misled to submit complaints against homeopathy websites that make misleading claims, and who therefore offer ineffective treatments, put patients at risk and take considerable amounts of money in exchange for sugar pills."

Note: hear, hear.

Announcing the [anti-sCAM] Nightingale Collaboration!

the Nightingale Collaboration states:

"misinformation about complementary and alternative therapies is rife on the internet, in newspapers and magazines and on the high street and this misinformation misleads the public. It is particularly important that the public have accurate information about healthcare so they can make informed choices [...] it needs to be challenged [...] it is possible to confront and highlight misleading information, have it withdrawn and those responsible held to account [...] the Nightingale Collaboration will work to improve the protection of the public by ensuring claims made about complementary and alternative therapies are not misleading [...by] challenging misleading claims made by practitioners on their websites, in adverts and in their promotional and sales materials and subjecting these to scrutiny by the appropriate regulatory bodies [and by] striving to ensure that organisations representing complementary and alternative practitioners have robust codes of conduct for their members that protect the public and that these are rigorously enforced [...] the Nightingale Collaboration will make tools and resources available so that others can pursue their own individual campaigns with maximum effect [...] more information will be released on the website over the coming weeks and months [...] Alan Henness & Maria MacLachlan, Directors."

Note: oh, goodie. This was reported in the Guardian.